


From The Moment You Wake Up (Pt 2)

by Mansaeboysbe



Category: K-pop, SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Mentions of Blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-24 11:11:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 19,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16173899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mansaeboysbe/pseuds/Mansaeboysbe
Summary: Based on a Soulmate AU where within a year of the younger half of a pairing turning 18, soulmates will switch bodies with one another. They have 24 hours in their soulmate’s life before being returned to their own. While in their soulmate’s body, a person is inhibited from mentioning their other life. They also cannot contact themselves in any way, however, people have figured out methods around this rule.This is your life afterwards.





	1. Seungcheol

**Author's Note:**

> -Admin Bee

No matter how many times you pushed through that heavy wooden door, walking into Pledis was intimidating. Of course, you had been shocked when you read the letter your soulmate left behind, not expecting one day of being outside your own body to result in losing your internship and gaining an interview with an elite company. But thanks to S. Coups’s reference, you barely had to introduce yourself before you were taken on as the new intern.

You had only been there for two weeks but had yet to meet your soulmate in person. Of course, you heard the other staff members talk about him, you heard about all of the Seventeen boys. But they were busy recording and practicing, and you, well, you were getting coffee. Again.

You had just finished distributing the morning cups of coffee to their eager receivers when one of the managers pulled you away.

“Where are we going?” You asked, brushing down your dress as you struggled to keep up with her pace. She shot a smile back over her shoulder, never faltering in her quick stride.

“You’ve got to do more than just get coffee for the office, so you’re helping me with a photo shoot today.”

Before you could ask another question, she pulled you into a room you’d never been in before. It was a studio that had been turned into a set for the day, bright lights and cameras set up at the front of the room while the back walls had been draped in plain, white fabric.

“You haven’t gotten to meet them yet, have you?” She asked, picking up a clipboard. You had to swallow the laugh that tried to escape your throat.

“No, not yet,” you managed. Oh, if only she knew.

“Well, today’s your lucky day.”

As if on cue, a door opened on the other side of the studio and the air left your lungs, leaving you speechless. You recognized the boys that were beginning to file into the room but your eyes flitted over the group, searching for one individual in particular. They hadn’t glanced in your direction yet but you realized that they wouldn’t recognize you, that they had never really met you, that is, you in this body.

“Don’t get too starstruck,” the manager laughed, calling your attention back to her, “though I know it’s hard.” Her wink sent blush creeping onto your face fast and you ducked your head towards the floor.

One of the head managers called for everyone’s attention and promptly started the photo shoot. The boys were split into their respective units and Performance team was chosen to go first while the others were asked to wait outside. Between the photographers, the stylists, the managers, and the idols, there were a lot of people in the room. So it was no surprise to you that you didn’t see S.Coups anytime between your being in the same room together.

The manager who brought you with her let you observe the photo shoot more than anything else. You stuck yourself on a table near the back while she talked with several different people about whatever was on the clipboard. You weren’t fully entertained, but it was fun to watch the boys work hard and goof around with each other, and it was definitely better than only being used for coffee runs.

“Are you the new intern?” A voice you weren’t expecting came from beside you and you jumped in response. You turned and Hoshi was standing beside you, “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. Just never seen you around before.”

“It’s alright,” you said, sliding off of the table so you could face him head-on, “I’m (Y/N), they hired me a couple of weeks ago.”

Something flashed in his eyes but it was interrupted by Jun calling his name to leave. He gave you a quick bow and darted out of the room, whispering something to Jun on the way out. You chuckled; he was like an excited puppy sometimes. Vocal team was next, with Joshua coming through the door a few minutes after everyone else. You watched him glance around the room like he was searching for someone, his eyes stopping when they reached yours. You checked around you but you were the only one standing on the wall, so he had most definitely been looking for you. His lips quirked up into a smirk and he gave you a small wave, which you returned before he turned back to the rest of the boys. When Vocal was finished you anxiously turned towards the door to look for S. Coups, but your search was interrupted by someone else.

“(Y/N), nice to see you made it past the coffee pot,” another manager had come up to you and gave you a pat on the back. You were about to make a witty remark when you noticed the sudden lack of noise in the room. The excited chatter that was once coming from the group of boys had faded to a few whispers, but you didn’t pay full attention until you felt someone come up behind you and place a hand on your shoulder. You turned, already going to pull away, when your eyes met familiar onyx ones. Eyes you had only ever seen reflected back. His lips turned up in a slight smile, sending chills throughout your whole body when he spoke.

“(Y/N)?”

Your smile sent S. Coups bursting forward, his arms coming to wrap around your waist in a tight hug. You threw your arms around his neck, holding tight when you felt your legs leave the ground. An excited squeal left your mouth, resulting in a laugh from both of you. He set you down gently and you realized the boys were clapping.

“I can’t believe you got me fired from my internship!” You exclaimed, giving him a soft swat on the arm. He laughed, catching your hands before you could continue the battering.

“I wish I could have told you, but you don’t deserve to be treated like that,” he swung your held hands lightly between you, “Plus if you hadn’t come to intern here, that amazing hug wouldn’t have just happened.”

You sighed, already melting under the adoring gaze he was looking at you with.

“Fine, but you’re not fully forgiven.”

“Don’t worry,” he brought your hands up to his lips and placed a small kiss there, “I have a lot of time to make it up to you.”


	2. Jeonghan

“Whoever thought this was a good idea shouldn’t be getting a promotion,” Jeonghan whispered to Seungcheol, who snorted in reply. They quickly glanced around to see if anyone noticed but the room was too loud and busy for anyone to be paying attention to the two oldest members against the wall.

Someone at Pledis had come up with the bright idea for Seventeen to put on a day camp for children. “Camp Carat,” they had deemed it, and the producers were on board immediately. Who didn’t want to see Seventeen interacting with children? That’s how they ended up here, standing in the middle of a gym in bright orange t-shirts while waiting for the young children to arrive.

As expected, some members had been more on board with the idea than others. Mingyu and Seokmin were already in place to greet the kids when they entered, making a bet to who could high five the most kids, while a few others like Vernon and Hoshi were helping set out name tags. The cameras weren’t rolling continuously yet so those who felt less enthusiastic, like Seungcheol and Jeonghan, had a few minutes to relax before all hell broke loose.

“Ready for this?” Jeonghan asked when Wonwoo came to sit with them. Wonwoo shrugged, looking towards the door to the gym.

“Who knows, maybe we’re all better with kids than we thought.”

“Not me,” Jeonghan shook his head, “I can’t be trusted with them.”

“C’mon, hyung, that was an accident. And this is different, the kids are confined in here. They can’t run away.”

“Make sure to tell that to the camera,” Minghao said, coming up beside them. He ducked out of the way before Wonwoo could swat him, running back to the others waiting by the door.

“You’ll be fine, hyung.” Wonwoo turned back to Jeonghan, “There’s twelve of us and the student volunteers.”

“I know but what if I’m just really bad with kids? If (Y/N) watches this-”

He was cut off by the sound of the directors shouting that the first child had arrived and filming would begin shortly. Wonwoo gave Jeonghan a sympathetic pat on the back and stood to walk over to be closer to the door. Jeonghan stood too, taking a deep breath and making his way to the spot he’d been directed to stand in. The boys exchanged a few hushed remarks between each other until the door opened and in walked the first child.  
There were twenty children in total, each greeted with a high five and a nametag. The members floated between jobs, Mingyu having to give up being a greeter when he almost smacked a child in the face on accident. Jeonghan tried to stay off to the side, politely bowing to the children that happened to pass him but otherwise avoiding interaction.

“I’m tapping out,” Jihoon came up to him and grabbed his arm, “you’re taking my job as a greeter so I can have yours.”

“And what’s that?”

“Wall sitter,” Jihoon smirked and graciously accepted a water bottle from a passing manager.

Jeonghan shot the younger a glare over his shoulder before taking his place by the door. The stream of kids had subsided so Jeonghan was able to interact more personally with the children he greeted. He felt himself becoming more comfortable and he actually started to have fun playing with some of the kids that gravitated towards him.

“What do you think so far?” Seungcheol asked when Jeonghan got a chance to sit at one of the tables. It was nearing lunch so the kids were winding down from playtime and going to clean up.

“It’s more fun than I thought, but I’m already tired,” Jeonghan admitted, running a hand through his hair.

“We still haven’t been able to get one of the boys to interact with us, Chan and I tried but he’s really shy,” Jun said, sitting on the floor beside them. He gestured towards the wall where Joshua was currently talking to a child who was sitting by himself. The boy had his arms crossed over his knees and seemed to be ignoring whatever Joshua was saying. And for some reason, he looked really familiar.

“What’s his name?” Jeonghan asked.

“Taemin, I think,” Jun replied. Jeonghan found himself standing up from the table quickly, ignoring Jun and Seungcheol’s questioning stares. He walked over to where Joshua was still trying to negotiate with the boy who wasn’t budging.

“Hyung,” Joshua practically sighed in relief, “Taemin, this is Jeonghan,” Taemin continued to look towards the floor. Joshua rubbed the back of his neck in disappointment, “he doesn’t want to come eat lunch with any of us.”

“I think I know a solution,” Jeonghan patted Joshua on the back, who took that as his opportunity to go help the other children clean up for lunch. Crouching down so he was closer to being in front of the boy, Jeonghan lowered his voice so only Taemin could hear him.

“Taemin, do you remember going to the zoo a couple of years ago with your sister?”

Finally, Taemin shifted his focus to staring questioningly at Jeonghan. He gave a small nod.

“Do you remember what happened that day?”

“I went to find the bears by myself and got lost” he answered.

“Did you ever tell (Y/N) that?”

Taemin grinned and shook his head, pretending to zip his lips shut.

“It’s our secret,” he repeated back, the phrase that Jeonghan had spent a whole bus ride trying to get his toddler brain to remember. Jeonghan grinned too and Taemin uncurled himself from his protected position to crawl over and hug the older boy. His small arms barely touched over Jeonghan’s shoulders but he still held on, his previous shy nature gone around a familiar presence.

Jeonghan hugged him back for a moment before standing and offering him a hand.

“Do you want to eat lunch together?”

Taemin nodded and together the two set out towards the sinks to wash up.

The other boys who had been trying to get Taemin to open up were impressed by Jeonghan’s accomplishment.

“I thought you said you couldn’t be trusted with kids,” Wonwoo teased when they were helping clear the tables after lunch.

“I think I proved myself wrong,” Jeonghan admitted, looking back to where Taemin was beginning to speak to Seungkwan. Taemin was still a little shy around the others but he had more confidence when Jeonghan was beside him, which was for most of the rest of the day. After lunch, they colored with Hoshi and some of the other children and then they played group games until it was rest time.

Once the mats and blankets were set out, the boys walked around the gym to help tuck the children in and wish them sweet dreams. Jeonghan helped Taemin spread the blanket over himself but when he got up to leave, Taemin reached out for him. Not being able to resist the look on the boy’s face, Jeonghan sat back down and rubbed his back until he fell asleep. He had planned on getting up again once Taemin was out, but he ended up curling up and taking a nap too.

After rest time was over, the older boys led group games until the end of the day. Taemin had finally warmed up to the group and seemed to be enjoying himself, even when he separated from Jeonghan to play with some of the other children. The group members teased him relentlessly but Jeonghan didn’t mind; he enjoyed getting to spend the day with Taemin without the fear of him getting lost again.

When it came time to leave, Taemin attached himself to Jeonghan. Trying to distract him, Jeonghan sat on the floor and played hand games with him until someone came to pick him up. When a manager called his name, Taemin pouted, rushing forward to bury himself in the older boy’s chest. Jeonghan chuckled and picked him up, expecting his mom or dad to be there when he turned around.

Who he hadn’t been expecting was you.

“There you are Taemin, we need to g-” you interrupted yourself when you realized who was holding your brother, “Jeonghan?”

“Hi,” he breathed after a moment, just as shocked as you were. For a moment you forgot your rush to get home and simply let the reality of your soulmate standing in front of you sink in.

“Sissy, I don’t wanna leave,” Taemin’s small cry of protest interrupted the stunned silence between you. Jeonghan looked towards your brother and smiled, rubbing his back with his free hand.

“Don’t worry, Taemin, we’ll hang out again soon.”

“When?” Taemin pushed off of Jeonghan’s chest to look up at him. Jeonghan contemplated for a moment before turning to look at you with a small grin.

“I don’t know, does Tuesday work?”

You couldn’t help but smile back, knowing fully well the invitation was mainly intended for you.

“I think that could work.”


	3. Joshua

“Let’s go to a party.”

His sudden proposition had you looking up from your textbook to stare at him in shock. You had known him for six years: two of those spent apart but still in contact as you finished your undergraduate degree, the other four spent in a relationship with the most patient person you had ever met, the soulmate who stuck by your side while you completed Medical School. And yet, even after six years, he still possessed the ability to surprise you.

“If you hadn’t noticed, I’m knee-deep in textbooks at the moment and a party will not help me pass my medical exam.”

“C’mon,” he slid a few textbooks off of the couch so he could sit, “you’ve been studying for days and you know you’re already going to pass, you’ve got this stuff in the bag.” He shifted closer until his thigh was pressed up against yours, taking your notes off of the table and sliding them in between the pages you had been looking at. Ignoring your whine of protest, he shut the book and tossed it onto the table, taking your, now free, hands and pulling you closer until you were practically sitting in his lap.

“Joshua Hong, what has gotten into you?” You exclaimed, unable to suppress the giggle that escaped when he pressed his nose to your cheek. He grinned back, sliding his hands to lightly hold onto your waist to keep you from falling.

“You haven’t been out in so long and Kassie misses you.”

“Kassie doesn’t miss me, she misses having someone to get drunk with.” You corrected him, resting your hands on his shoulders. You went to come up with another argument but you honestly couldn’t think of one, plus he was looking at you with that head tilt that he knew you couldn’t resist, and eventually, you gave in.

“Fine, but just tonight, and I’m not getting drunk.” You clarified. He smiled and placed a soft kiss to your lips.

“Go get ready,” he said, nudging you off of his legs, “Don’t worry about the textbooks, I’ll try and organize them.”

“Such a gentleman,” you commented from the doorway to your bedroom, closing it so you could get dressed before you could hear his reply.

The party was in full swing when you arrived. You held onto Joshua’s arm as he led you up to the front door, music and loud conversations bleeding out into the lawn from inside. There were tons of people there already, every corner filled by someone drinking, dancing, or possibly making out with someone else. You easily maneuvered through the crowd until you ended up in the kitchen, which was surprisingly one of the emptiest rooms in the house. Kassie was already there, sitting up on the counter and drinking from a plastic cup.

“(Y/N)!” She squealed, jumping down to come give you a hug, “You didn’t tell me you were going to be here! I thought you had studied too hard and died or something.”

“Joshua convinced me to come.” You turned to make sure he was still there. He grinned when he saw you check, lacing your fingers together in silent confirmation that he was still there.

“Thank you for looking out for her, Josh, at least somebody,” she looked pointedly at you, “cares about her health.”

“I can care about my health when I pass this final.” You retorted, moving towards the counter to pick out a drink.

“If you live until then,” Kassie mumbled into her cup, shooting you a look over the rim of her cup.

“Can we talk about something besides finals?” You asked, mixing some alcohol together, “that’s why I came here in the first place.”

“Let’s go dance then,” Kassie was already headed out of the room towards the main room where the music was coming from. You rolled your eyes over at Joshua who gave you an easy smile and held his hand out to you again. With a drink in one hand and your soulmate in the other, you decided to try and forget about your stress and just enjoy your night out.

Forgetting about your stress was easier after a few drinks. You had told Joshua you weren’t going to get drunk but that declaration became harder to keep up when everything felt better with each drink you finished. You were enjoying yourself, getting into the music and really relaxing when Joshua pulled you over to a couch and forced you to sit. He pried the cup of alcohol out of your hand, ignoring your complaints and grabbing hands. He disappeared and returned a moment later with a glass of water, kneeling beside you and holding the bottle up to your lips.

“You gotta drink, (Y/N).”

“Don’t wanna,” you protested like a child, crossing your arms. He tried again, resorting to tickling your sides until your mouth fell open and he could tilt the cool liquid back into your mouth. You wanted to protest but the water felt good against your tingling throat. You had finished half of the bottle when you started to sober up a little, leaning into the hand Joshua had rubbing your back.

“You know what I want?” Kassie had come back over, on her own path to coming off of being drunk, even if she was getting there slowly.

“If you say chicken tacos I will literally shove this water bottle up your-”

“Hey,” he stopped you with a hand on your knee, “be nice.”

“Well I was going to offer to pay for them, but if you’re going to insult my chicken tacos then you don’t get any. C’mon Josh, we’re going back to the beach.” She gripped onto his wrist but he didn’t budge.

“Kassie, it’s two in the morning. The taco shop isn’t open.”

He might as well had told her that the taco shop was closed indefinitely from the look of disappointment that took over her face. He started to panic as a few tears began to drip down her face. Even you were surprised, but Kassie was always an emotional drunk.

“Hey, don’t cry,” he abandoned his seat on the floor and stood to place a hand on her arm, “we can get tacos somewhere else.”

“Where?” she cried, her mascara starting to run.

“Er,” he looked towards you but you could only shrug, “how about Taco Bell?”

He was forgiven in an instant. The three of you abandoned the party shortly afterward, Kassie running out first to try and get to the car first. Joshua and you were slower, your coordination still a little off as the last remnants of alcohol clung to your mind. But Joshua let you cling onto him, his arm around you keeping you up when you fell.

“You two are cute, but I’m hungry.”

“Kassie, where’s your soulmate when we need him.” Joshua joked as he unlocked the car and opened the passenger door for you.

“For your information,” she jabbed a finger at his chest, “he’s too busy becoming a teacher to hang out with us.”

“And he’s in Germany,” you added from the front seat.

“That too.”

All three of you laughed. Joshua started the car and pulled away from the curb, leaving the loud party behind you. He drove until the familiar neon sign appeared on the side of the road, stopping Kassie in the middle of a rant about a TV show she had been watching. He went through the drive-thru and pulled into a parking spot to distribute the food.

Kassie gladly took hers, barely getting the paper wrapping off before devouring the taco. You laughed at her frantic behavior and took more time on your cheese quesadilla.

“She was right about something,” Joshua commented after taking a sip of lemonade.

“And what’s that?” You asked after chewing.

“You’re going to study yourself to death if you’re not careful.”

“Joshua,” you groaned, “you know how important this is to me.”

“I know,” he adjusted so he was facing you in the seat, “but you need to have more faith in yourself. You’re prepared, you need to focus on reviewing instead of studying constantly.”

“But what if I don’t know it? What if I just convinced myself I do?”

“What is Dysphonia a common symptom of?” he suddenly asked.

“Laryngitis, but I don’t see how-”

“(Y/N),” he laughed, “you didn’t even have to think about it.”

Okay, maybe he was right. So you pretended your quesadilla was the most interesting thing in the world, ducking your head so you couldn’t see his face. You could practically hear his smile, but it wasn’t mocking. He simply leaned across the seat and placed a soft kiss to your forehead.

Maybe sitting in a Taco Bell parking lot at three in the morning with your soulmate and Kassie snoring in the back seat wasn’t the most romantic situation you could imagine, but in that moment, it was perfect.


	4. Jun

“I think I’m going back to physical therapy,” you blurted out during dinner one day. Jun paused with his ramen halfway to his mouth but it he quickly set the noodle and chopsticks back in the bowl so his hands were free to take yours over the table.

“(Y/N), that’s incredible!” He exclaimed, and you sighed with relief.

There was no one in the world who was going to support you more than Jun and yet you still had doubts in telling him. You’d discussed trying therapy again with him before, how last time you spent months with nothing more than disappointment at the end. It had been devastating to lose your chance of walking for a second time and you gave up all hope after that. That is until Jun became a part of your life.

“What made you decide to go back?” He asked, pulling his hands away to continue eating. The edges of your lips quirked upward as you spooned more noodles into your mouth as well, remembering the moment.

“When we babysat Jae last week,” DK had asked you and Jun to watch his son for the night so he and his wife could go to a musical, “and you were teaching him the Adore U dance. I realized I missed dancing but I thought that if we ever decided to have kids, I wanted to be out of the wheelchair. It’d be easier to take care of them and we could all play together, as a family.”

He smiled, remembering the way you’d watched him and Jae jump around the room, but couldn’t join in yourself. He tried to get you to at least dance with your arms, but you insisted on being just fine watching them. The truth was in your smile, it wasn’t as bright as Jun knew it was when you really were happy and he could tell you felt disappointed. That night he tried to talk to you about it but you avoided the subject every time he alluded to it in conversation. Eventually, he let it go.

“(Y/N),” you looked up from your bowl to see him staring at you fondly, “you’d be a great mother, wheelchair or not.”

“You’re such a flirt,” you laughed, cheeks blooming with rose.

“Ouch,” he clutched a hand over his chest and pretended to be wounded, “a man can’t compliment his wife?”

“Oh no, keep the compliments coming, but we were talking about physical therapy and you switched it to talking about my matronly skills.” You picked up your now empty bowl and went over to the sink.

“You caught me,” Jun was right behind you with his own bowl. You took turns cleaning up after dinner, him washing the dishes and you wiping off the table. After everything was put away, you helped Jun go over his lines for the new drama he was starring in. Well, you started out by going over lines and ended up making fun of the shallow plot by the time you put the scripts down for the night.

“If people really like that kind of simple conflict in their shows, maybe I should try writing a script sometime,” you commented while you got ready for bed. Jun’s laugh came from the bathroom.

“What would your show be about?” he asked when he came back into the bedroom, coming over to you to help lift you onto the mattress.

You hummed in contemplation while he slid an arm under your legs and wrapped the other around your back for support.

“Space pirates,” you concluded. He laughed again, his breath ghosting over your face from how he was still leaning over you after laying you down on the bed.

“I think that’s already been done,” he said, climbing over you to lay on his side of the bed.

“But mine has a twist. The main character finds out he’s actually the son of the Lizard King, and he’s next in line for the Lizard Kingdom.” The tranquility of the dark bedroom was met with both of your laughter, probably too loud considering it was late and you had neighbors in close proximity. Rolling onto his side, Jun reached forward and wrapped his arms around you so you were cuddled together. You snuggled back into him and sighed happily, listening to his soft breathing. For a moment you thought he had already fallen asleep.

“I meant what I said earlier,” he whispered, pulling you closer into his chest, “our kids would be fucking awesome.”

You turned around in his arms so you could stare up into his face, “hey, don’t swear in front of our hypothetical children.”

“Oops, sorry, our kids would be frickin’ cool.” Despite the darkness, you could see the smile on his face. His hand shifted to rest on your stomach and you leaned into his chest, waiting until his breathing fell into a steady rhythm to add your final thought.

“They’d be amazing because they’d have the best father in the world.”

8 Months Later

“Ready for this?” Jun asked, reaching over the console to take your hand. You nodded, taking a deep breath to steady the adrenaline running through your system. He smiled and got out of the car, coming around to your side to open the door. You carefully unfolded your legs and accepted the crutches he was holding out to you. With another deep breath, you stationed your weight onto the crutches and pulled up until you were standing. Jun had a huge smile on his face that you returned once you were balanced and steady. His hands were hovering around you in case you needed extra support but you were feeling particularly confident today.

Two weeks ago your physical therapist had deemed you ready to start walking again, with aide from crutches. The first day you were able to, a little shakily, walk into the kitchen, Jun almost dropped the dish he was drying. There was a lot of happy yelling and then he was lifting you up, spinning you around with compliments of how proud he was. Every day you had been getting stronger and much more confident in walking by yourself, so much so that you decided to come to the family picnic the Seventeen boys were having without your wheelchair.

“Hey, Jun!” You both looked up to see Dino waving to you from by a picnic table where a few other people were already seated. Jun waved back and you slowly made your way over to them. You kept your gaze lowered to the ground to concentrate on walking without falling over, but someone saying your name made you look up.

“How long have you been walking, (Y/N)?” Mingyu asked with a shocked smile. You glanced around to see the other boys and their soulmates watching you with similar expressions. None of them were judgmental though, they all looked as excited as you felt.

“Two weeks,” you smiled, lowering yourself onto the bench of the table and setting the crutches down on the ground behind you. Jun went and sat down across from you.

Little by little the other couples arrived. A few of the boys couldn’t make it- Joshua was still in America, Wonwoo was busy with moving, and Jihoon had been MIA for a few months now, but the family dynamic was still strong among the boys who could be there. Everyone was catching up and sharing stories, Seungkwan finishing his about meeting his soulmate’s parents for the first time when Seungcheol turned towards you and Jun.

“What about you guys?” He asked, “Anything new?”

You looked towards Jun and smiled, nudging his foot with yours under the table in encouragement.

“Well, I auditioned for a part in Park Chanwook’s latest film a few months ago,” he paused and took a deep breath, “and I got the lead role.”

The table erupted. Hoshi and Minghao had already jumped on Jun with excited cheers and the rest of the table was talking and clapping for him. You smiled as he bashfully pushed his friends off of him with difficulty, Hoshi refusing to let go of the older man until his hug was returned.

“So (Y/N)’s walking and you’re going to be the lead in a huge movie, anything else you want to surprise us with?” Seungcheol laughed. Little did he know you actually did have one last announcement.

“Well,” you started looking over to Jun. He was looking at you in confusion as you hadn’t even told him the news yet, “there is one more thing.” The entire table’s attention shifted to you as they waited for what you were going to say. “I’m pregnant.”

It took less than a second after you said those words for Hoshi to start screaming again. Jun was staring at you in shock, frozen in his seat. The other people at the table were showering you in congratulations and excited chatter but your entire focus was on the man in front of you, who sort of looked like he was going to cry.

“I’m going to be a dad?” he asked, eyes still wide with shock. You nodded and bit down on your lip to avoid smiling as wide as you wanted to.

“Holy shit,” he gasped, covering his mouth with his hand.

“Hey,” you playfully scolded, settling your hand on your stomach, “don’t swear in front of our child.”

He got up to come around to your side of the table but you beat him to it, standing and meeting him halfway on your crutches. He gripped your waist to help you steady yourself after almost losing your balance in excitement.

“You didn’t have to get up.”

“I didn’t have to,” you walked closer to him until your chest was flush against his and you had to look up to stare into his eyes, “but now that I can, I want to.”

“Then I guess I’ll just have to get used to it,” he said, pulling you in for a tight hug. You wrapped your arms around him too, raising up on your tiptoes for the first time since you were little. This, you thought, everything you’d worked for, was something you could never get used to.


	5. Soonyoung

“Alright everyone, we have a guest today,” your dance teacher announces after entering the room. She set down her bag by the stereo system and turned towards the group of dancers warming up, “my friend Soonyoung has agreed to sit in on today’s class and give tips. He’s one of the best dancers I know, so take his advice seriously.”

The response of the other people in the room was mixed: some people started excitedly chattering, there were a few groans, but no one seemed as nervous as you. Maybe it was because despite being in class two times a week for the past two months, you still danced like a fish flopping around on land. And while you felt safe within the judgment-free zone of your class, allowing an outsider to witness your “dancing” made you uncomfortable. But you kept quiet, staring down at the material of your shorts while you continued to stretch before class.

There were still a few minutes before class started when the door suddenly flew open. You were in the half splits at the time so you weren’t able to see who it was, but judging by the way the room fell silent, you guessed it was a newcomer. You glanced into the mirror in front of you and strained to see the stranger’s feet walk over to where your teacher was setting up the sound system. You couldn’t catch what they were saying but their greeting sounded friendly. It must have been your guest instructor.

“Good morning everyone!” The chipper voice that rang across the room sounded oddly familiar, like the nostalgia of a theme song to a cartoon you hadn’t watched in years.

“Suji’s friend is really cute,” the girl next to you whispered as you stood to line up along the mirrors. You crouched to tie the shoelace that had been bothering you, yet to look up at the center of attention.

“My name’s Soonyoung, but for today you guys can call me Hoshi.”

You practically fell over, your balance being thrown off by his formal introduction to the class. Unfortunately, your lack of gracefulness wouldn’t let you get away with simply and silently catching your balance and standing without drawing attention to yourself. No, instead everyone’s attention turned to you when you fell backward with a yelp.

“Are you okay?” You sheepishly looked up to see everyone staring at you, but Hoshi’s gaze was the strongest. Surprisingly he didn’t seem as shocked as you, almost as if he had expected you to be there, by yourself on the floor because of him.

“I’m fine,” you managed, rising with little dignity and attempting to recompose yourself.

“Falling for him already?” The girl from before giggled beside you and you tried to hide the burning red in your face.

Hoshi was a great teacher and an even better dancer. If you were anyone else, you could see yourself having a genuinely good time under his instruction and this class could have easily been the best so far. But Hoshi seemed to have made it his mission to give you a hard time for the day.

“Ok, everyone, this next part requires a partner, so pair up!”

You didn’t even bother looking for a partner when Hoshi suggested it, already seeing where his train of thought was headed. Sure enough, he was pushing past the group of girls who rushed him in hopes of being his partner to make his way over to you.

“You sure you want me as a partner?” you asked innocently, “I dance like a dying cow,”

“I’m sure you can keep up,” he countered, sliding his arm around your shoulder to lead you back to the front of the class. This had to be the weirdest soulmate meeting ever.

“Everyone paired up? Great!” He turned suddenly to face you, his soft expression throwing you off. Wasn’t he acting all smooth and confident just a second ago?

You didn’t have time to ponder when Hoshi’s choreography took all of your focus and energy; however, you didn’t miss the way he seemed to move so fluidly like water, or how his face scrunched when he concentrated, or the small compliments he gave you when you executed a move perfectly on the first attempt.

“For someone who claims they can’t dance,” he sat down next to you during a water break, “you have a lot of skill.”

“I bet you tell that to all your dance partners,” you said, casting a glance at him over your water bottle. He was smirking but there were inklings of a genuine smile that were making his eyes turn up.

“Only those whose bedrooms I’ve already seen.”

His words had you choking on water and you started coughing, drawing the attention of some of the people around you. Catching your breath quickly, you swallowed a few times to clear your throat, relieved that the redness on your face could be passed off as something besides a blush.

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” a girl had come up beside you two, glancing over at you as you continued to try to breathe properly, “but Hoshi, could you help me with a part of the dance?”

He glanced back towards you, “will you be ok?”

You simply nodded and watched as he got up to help the girl with the choreography. While her intentions may have gone further than learning the dance, his didn’t, but it was difficult to push down the small jealousy blooming in your stomach. It was the choreography near the beginning of the song so there was a lot of precise hand and arm movements that had admittedly been difficult to figure out. He tried showing her slowly a few times but the girl never bent her arms the correct way. Eventually, he was standing close behind her, his hands moving her wrists to help show exactly how to do the move. You diverted your attention to a separate part of the room when you saw the girl lean back into him and smile.

“Ready to start again?” Hoshi’s voice interrupted your staring contest with the wall, and when you looked over, he was staring directly at you. The girl had gone back to her spot and the space next to him was empty, waiting for you to stand there. With newfound hesitance, you went to dance with him again.

Everyone was sweaty and exhausted by the end of the class but the excitement buzzing around the room was shared equally. Conversations began immediately after Hoshi said goodbye and your teacher dismissed the class, whispers about the guest instructor’s skills and equally impressive looks making there way to you as you quickly pulled on your jacket and shouldered your bag.

Hoshi had left without so much of a “talk to you later” to you, but you knew it was no coincidence that he just happened to show up at your dance studio. You’d left your contact information with Minghao and he left you his, but both of you had been too shy to instigate anything. Not to mention you were both constantly busy and would barely have time to talk anyway. And you knew from the way he singled you out during class that he remembered you. So why didn’t he say anything when you were finally in the same room?

Giving up on the idea of seeing him again anytime soon, you braced yourself against the heavy doors of the studio and pushed out into the sunlight. You were fishing around in your bag for your keys when you heard your name being called. When you looked up, there was Hoshi, leaning against the building like he had been there all day. You started walking towards him with the intent of getting answers clear in your mind.

“Hello!” He looked like he was trying to stay composed but the way he was slightly bouncing on his heels gave away his enthusiasm. It almost made you forget your original intentions on going over to him. Almost.

“Did you know I was going to be here?” You asked, tilting your head slightly. Hoshi seemed taken back by your blunt question but it was only for a moment until his cool demeanor from earlier returned.

“So we’re doing questions?”

“Hoshi,” you warned.

“Maybe it was fate,” a faint blush dusted across his cheeks but a disbelieving look from you and he lowered his eyes, softly scuffing his shoe against the concrete, “Minghao found your Twitter,” he admitted.

“You stalked my social media?” you asked, playfully crossing your arms to feign defensiveness.

“No! No, it-” he was quick to look back up and reassure you but the smirk on your lips stopped him. He turned a darker shade of red and shuffled some more, “do you maybe want to talk over smoothies?”

This time he caught you off guard, “Usually when I get asked out for drinks, it’s alcohol. Smoothies would be a first.”

He shrugged, ruffling his fluffy hair, “you seem like a smoothie kind of girl.”

“Did you get that off of my social media too?” You teased, making his eyes widen again. He started to stumble over another excuse but you stopped him by taking a step closer and pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. You giggled as he spluttered again, “smoothies sound amazing.”


	6. Wonwoo

The next morning was difficult. The familiarity of the dorm was almost bitter, the sound of the other boys getting ready being a sharp contrast to the metallic rattle of a radiator he fell asleep to. Wonwoo rolled over and pressed his face into the pillow. He pushed down the heaviness behind his eyes when Mingyu shook his shoulders.

“What,” he croaked, turning his head towards his roommate.

“Welcome back,” Mingyu said, sitting back on his legs, “How was it?”

Wonwoo couldn’t bring himself to tell. Instead, he turned the question back to the girl who had his body yesterday.

“She was pretty freaked out when she woke up, but besides sassing DK, she was absolutely lovely. DK had it coming though.”

“So she had a good day?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Mingyu scratched the back of his head, “she’d never been to the beach before so we took the day off.”

Wonwoo sighed with relief, rubbing a hand over his face.

“Wonu, did something happen yesterday?” A pause, “Is she safe?”

“Mingyu, I need your help.”

It took three months and a lot of convincing for Pledis to allow Wonwoo to travel during Seventeen’s break. He only knew her name and where she had lived, as she hadn’t left behind any of her contact information. He tried to control his nerves on the car ride over to the apartment, but with the way Joshua placed a hand on his knee, he knew he wasn’t doing a great job internalizing his fear.

“Wonwoo, it’ll be alright,” Hoshi spoke from beside him, “we’re all here for you.”

“Just… it’s been three months and she wasn’t living under the best conditions and she was facing expulsion and,” he sighed, “I’m so afraid of losing her before I even meet her in person.”

The silence from the other boys consumed the car. Joshua tried to help, but the situation was so different from anything they experienced with their soulmates that they didn’t know how to help. Wonwoo forgave them internally, turning back to the window to see them pull up to the address he had memorized ever since that day. He practically jumped out of the car when it had parked, his friends coming to stand on the sidewalk with promises of being there if he needed moral support.

He was quick up the stairs, feeling the familiar creak of the old metal under his shoes. His heart was racing as he reached her floor, turned down her hallway, and stopped in front of her door. It was exactly as he had left it. So with a tentative fist, he reached up and knocked on the door.

You weren’t expecting any visitors that day, so you weren’t even out of your pajamas when the knock came. You hesitantly set down the toast you had been buttering, worry starting to curl in your stomach at the different possibilities. As you approached, you went through a list in your head: You had paid rent, the tab at the store wasn’t due until the end of the month, and none of your friends said they were coming over today.

“Can I he-” the words caught in your throat when your eyes landed on the man standing in front of your door. He looked disheveled, from the uneven rise and fall of his chest to the way his hair seemed to fall in every direction. He swallowed thickly and you felt small under his pointed stare.

“Do… do you want to come in?” You eventually offered, glancing back into your apartment. It was probably clean enough. He slipped through the door but he didn’t go much further than that. He eventually spoke when you had closed the door.

“Are you okay?”

The question caught you off guard. Neither of you had done a good job of leaving behind any means of contact for the other, but your reasons extended past just forgetting.

“I’ve been better,” you admit, leaning back against the door and staring towards the floor, “why did you come find me?”

Now it was his turn to be caught off guard. “Oh, I- I'm sorry, I just thought… “ he groaned, finding a way to look more uncomfortable than he did before, “If you didn’t want… I can just leave,” he made a motion towards the door but you were still standing against it.

“I never said I didn’t want you here,” you admit, bringing your eyes up to meet his, “I’m just surprised you came back.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” There was something in his voice, something genuine in his question, that sent you pressing back into the door for support. In response you let your eyes flick over his shoulder to your shabby apartment, his gaze following suit.

“Listen, I know who you are. And you’ve already seen some of who I am. But this,” you gesture to the small room around you, “this doesn’t even scratch the surface.”

He looked around again before coming back and settling on your small frame that was slumped against the doorway. You expected him to confirm your doubts, to push past you and leave you behind like everyone in your life had already done. But instead, he took you by surprise.

“My name is Jeon Wonwoo, I’m 20 years old, and I’m afraid of dogs.”

“What are you-”

“You said you knew who I am, but I’d like to prove you wrong.” Something in your chest sparked into warmth that made you stand up straighter. “And I think you’re wrong about something else, too.”

“Yeah? What’s that?” The small smile creeping onto your face was totally involuntary, so you told yourself.

“I’ve experienced one day of your life but that doesn’t mean I know who you really are. But I’d like to if you’d let me.” He’d shifted forward, but you were the one to push off of the door and step closer. There was still space between you, an established safe zone you left in case he decided this isn’t what he wanted after all. But he made no move to run. So you decided to let him in.

“Ok,” you finally breathed, and you swore you saw him sigh in relief, “I’d like that too.”


	7. Jihoon

It was nights like these where you wondered if Jihoon was really the same person you’d seen in that video years ago. The one that he made specifically for you, he sang a song for you, he was eager to meet you. You had replayed the video several times before Jeonghan came back to find you in a crying mess. But you wanted to memorize it, ingrain it into your memory so you could come back to it anytime. When you first met, he’d insisted on singing it to you again, and you thought he was always going to be the same slightly embarrassed boy who sang for you in the cramped studio.

But now you weren’t sure. Tonight your patience with him was running dangerously thin.

You wouldn’t call what you had with Jihoon a relationship. Technically speaking you were dating one another and, technically speaking, your souls were bound together by the universe, but you never felt it was enough to be a “relationship.” Heck, it wasn’t even enough to be considered a healthy friendship.

Weeks would you go by at a time where you’d rarely see or hear from him. At first, you were more than understanding: he was stubborn when it came to working and once he had an idea, there was no stopping him. You were fine with working around his schedule, meaning most of your dates either happened late at night or were twenty minutes long, at the most. You were so enthralled by the idea of finally being with your soulmate that you didn’t realize how one-sided your relationship was.

And lately, it had only gotten worse. Because he was the one who suggested meeting up after work in the first place, he was the one who kept calling to push back the date, and he was the one who never showed up. You shifted again, the cold plastic of the bench still too firm to be a comfortable seat. The ache in your tailbone had subsided but the slight numbness in your legs was coming back.

You checked your phone again, only to be met with the blank lock screen staring back at you. Of course, it was a picture of you two, you had insisted on being that couple and he begrudgingly complied, but you didn’t miss the small smile on your screen that he was trying to hold back. Now it was just mocking.

Standing up slowly to avoid falling over, you began to walk back home by yourself. It was March but the night air was far more chilly than you had anticipated. You wrapped your arms tighter around yourself, stopping short of wishing Jihoon was there to give you his coat. You tried to avoid the inkling of fear you felt walking home by yourself. You didn’t live in a particularly dangerous neighborhood, but that didn’t stop your hands from fumbling when you tried to unlock your door too quickly.

A house anticipating company felt far more empty than a house used to a single resident.

You shucked your shoes off by the door and slung your jacket over the back of the couch to deal with in the morning. All you wanted to do now was curl up under the covers and scream, or cry, or maybe both until you fell asleep.

You were woken up by the familiar buzzing of your cell phone next to you. You blinked at the illuminated screen, almost throwing the phone across the room when you saw the caller ID.

“Jihoon?” Your voice was barely raised above a whisper but it still shook slightly.

“(Y/N),” he breathed back, sounding exhausted, “I was hoping you were still up. I need you.”

The laugh you exhaled was bitter. “Jihoon, I’m not doing this.”

He hesitated like he didn’t hear what you’d just admitted. “What?”

“Three weeks. You can’t just ignore me for three weeks and then think it’s perfectly alright to just come out of nowhere and say you want to see me. It’s almost two in the morning, I waited for you for two hours at the bus stop. Alone. And not so much as a call from you saying you were going to be late. I’m not here to keep you entertained, Jihoon. Don’t make me spell it out for you.”

The silence that ensued was almost suffocating, his hesitation lingering with your own frustration that was slowly ebbing into desperation. The words you never wanted to say lingered on your tongue. Your eyes stung and began to water but you refused to make a noise, refused to let him know that you were crying over him again. “Jihoon, I think we-”

“(Y/N),” he interrupted desperately, “can you please just come to the studio? I-I’m trying to finish this track and… and I tried to sing, but I couldn’t think of anything.”

“Just go back to your notebook, you’ve got extra ideas in there.”

“I can’t, I used everything already. I ran out of inspiration and I can’t-”

“Jihoon.” You weren’t used to him sounding this distressed.

“(Y/N),” he muttered, “please, I need you to be here with me.”

You contemplated the situation. He shouldn’t be able to just pull you back to him whenever he pleased. On the other hand, you’d never seen this side of him. You’d teased him before about how he should use you for inspiration in composing but you’d never thought he’d take the idea to heart. So you sighed again and answered.

“I’ll be there soon.”

~

You took a deep breath before pushing on the door. The studio was dimly lit by a few lamps but you could still see Jihoon hunched over the computer. His headphones weren’t on though, so he turned when you came in.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he mumbled as he got up. He made a move like he was going to hug you but stopped himself, instead lightly placing his hand on your arm instead. It was frustrating beyond belief but you still managed a small smile as he moved back to his chair and you took a seat on the couch.

You remembered him saying that he’d used every idea in his notebook, which was sitting on the table in front of you, so you picked it up to see if there was anything he might have missed. Turns out it wasn’t just a notebook for writing down ideas. In between lyrics and chords were small journal entries, usually only a few sentences long. As you started to read, you realized your name was frequently appearing. He wrote about your dates, describing in poetic detail ordinary outings. There were entries based on conversations you’d had on the phone and quotes from you. But it was the entries in red ink that meant the most.

At first glance, they looked like regular lyrics. You had almost passed over them but your eyes caught on the first few lines:

_“What can I do now?_

_I’m just standing here_

_Where we used to be together”_

The entry was new, the page across from it still blank. You continued to read down the scattered lyrics he’d written down.

_“Even if this song becomes inaudible_

_This song that I made for you_

_Don’t listen in secret”_

Your heart sank at the words and you could feel your eyes watering again. You quickly closed the notebook and turned it over in your hands, smoothing the worn cover.

“Jihoon?”

“Yeah?” He didn’t even look up from the computer, “What’s wrong?”

“I think we need to talk. About us.”

“Can it wait, (Y/N), I jus-”

“Jihoon,” the sharp tone of your voice finally had him turning around to face you, “this isn’t going to work.”

He hesitated, searching for anything besides sincerity in your words. When you didn’t continue, he lowered his eyes to the floor.

“I can make it up to you,” he spoke to the floor, “after this comeback, we-”

“No,” you cut him off. He swallowed thickly when you continued, “you’re not ready for a relationship right now and it’s not fair to either of us. We can still be friends but until you’re able to make time and put in as much effort as I have been, I’m not doing this.” Without another word, you got up and went over to the door. You stopped in the doorway, one hand already pulling the handle behind you.

“Call me when you’re ready to handle this like an adult, Jihoon.”

You thought about looking back at him but you didn’t have the strength in you to see his face. A small whisper of your name reached your ears and you shut the door between you, not bothering to hold back the tears that had already started to fall.


	8. Seokmin

The early morning light was just beginning to soak through the curtains when you returned to your bedroom. You were exhausted; your son was sick and you spent half the night comforting him through fits of sneezing, coughing, and vomiting. By the time you’d finally gotten him to sleep and cleaned yourself off, it was six in the morning and you were falling asleep on your feet. You graciously accepted the soft mattress that sank under your weight.

When you woke up to a blaring alarm clock, you felt like death.

Not only had you only gotten two hours of sleep, but you could also tell before you were fully awake that the flu your son was sick with had transferred to you. You attempted to groan, the noise coming out strangled from your sore throat and stuffy nose.

“Good morning to you too,” came in a mumble beside you. You huffed and turned on your side to face the man beside you, watching his eyes slowly blink open to meet yours. Moments like these, waking up to see Seokmin smiling back at you, could be sweet, but this morning's was ruined by almost sneezing in his face.

“Bless you,” he smiled when you looked back up, “are you sick?”

You nod, “I was up with Jae last night and I think I caught it too.” You cleared your throat and tried not to flinch from the soreness. Seokmin frowned and raised a palm to your forehead.

“You’re burning up.”

“I’m fine,” you shifted away from his touch and threw off the covers, “c’mon, don’t be late to work.”

“Oh no you don’t.” Before you knew what was happening, Seokmin had come to your side of the bed and was pushing you back down, “You need to rest, I’ll stay home today.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, I’m fine.” You were betrayed by another sneeze. Seokmin definitely wasn’t convinced.

“Nope, no excuses. I’m taking the day off and I’m taking care of my family.”

You tried to protest again but Seokmin was helping lean you back against the pillows and sleep was making your thoughts hazy. The last thing you felt before slipping back asleep was a soft kiss against your cheek.

When you woke up for the second time, there was someone else pressed against your side. You looked down and saw the familiar brown tufts of your son’s hair. He was curled against you, his peaceful state contrasting with the wheezing of his stuffy nose. He coughed a little and you lifted him up so he was laying more comfortably against your chest.

“You’re up.” Seokmin’s soft voice came from the doorway and you turned your head, trying not to disturb the sleeping child.

“Good morning, again.” He whispered, coming to stand by the bed.

“When did Jae come down?”

“About an hour ago, he started crying so I gave him some water and brought him here to sleep with you.” He smoothed his hand over Jae’s cheek first and then repeated the action over your own. “Do you feel better?”

You tried breathing in through your nose but your condition had only gotten slightly better since earlier that morning. “No such luck.”

“If you’re feeling well enough, I can go to the store and get ingredients for soup.”

You nod, the idea of warm soup on your sore throat inviting. Seokmin’s domestic skills had improved over the years, especially after you first started living together. So while he may have been a mess in the kitchen once, he was less of a mess now. Much less of a mess that you trusted him to be able to make soup for you and Jae.

You tucked Jae under your covers and made your way into the kitchen to help Seokmin decide what he needed to buy. He was wary about you being out of bed but you ignored his comments and began looking through the cupboards.

“Wait, can you pick up a few more things while you’re there?” You asked before Seokmin could depart for the store. He finished putting on his coat and looked over at you.

“Decongestant for Jae and pads for me?”

Seokmin blinked and you could see his face grow red from your request.

“Seokmin…”

“S-Sorry, (Y/N), it’s just-”

“Seokmin, we have a child together.”

“I know but-”

“You’ve literally had my period before, buying pads for your wife won’t shatter your masculinity.”

He stuttered a few more times before sighing and giving you a small, embarrassed smile.

“You’re right, I’m sorry.”

You uncrossed your arms from your chest and tilted your head towards him with a proud “thank you.” He blushed again and blew you a kiss from the doorway, which you returned before he left.

You sought refuge on the couch until he got back, curled up under a blanket and trying not to cough up a lung. He returned after a while, two grocery bags in his arms. You jumped up from your seat to help him.

“I thought you were just going for soup ingredients?”

“I did,” he moved to start putting things away, “but then I thought about what you and Jae might want to eat after you got better, so I got some of your favorite snacks.”

You smiled and slid a container of cookies onto the counter. Seokmin handed you the box of children’s medicine. You helped him get the kitchen set up to make soup and retreated back to your bedroom to give Jae his medicine. It was a little difficult, trying to make a three-year-old with the flu swallow bitter medicine but you got it down eventually. After the struggle, both of you fell asleep until Seokmin came in again.

“Hey,” you blinked up at the voice that had woken you up. Seokmin was crouched beside the bed, lightly playing with your hair that spread out on the pillow, “soup’s ready.”

You yawned in response and turned to see Jae sleeping on Seokmin’s side of the bed. He was curled against the pillow peacefully with no signs of having the flu whatsoever. Seokmin got up and walked to the other side of the bed, bending over to gently rub Jae’s back. Jae blinked open his eyes and turned to see who had woken him up, a wide smile taking over his face when he saw it was his dad. Seokmin stared down at him fondly, bending quickly to press a kiss to his neck, causing Jae to squeal and scrunch up in response, giggling from being tickled. Seokmin gently lifted him off of the bed and cradled him against his chest, cooing as he took Jae to wash up before eating. You were still smiling after they left, finally pulling yourself out of bed to join them.

When you got into the kitchen, Jae was already clean and in his chair, following Seokmin’s movements at the stove. He was only three, but you knew Seokmin was Jae’s favorite parent. He was almost exactly like Seokmin; same soft eyes, bright smile, and even brighter personality, and he wanted to do everything just like his dad too. Seokmin had been singing to him since before he was born, so it was no surprise when Jae’s first words were spoken in a melodic tone. No surprise to you, at least, while Seokmin practically fainted, running out of the nursery to call his old group mates about the occurrence.

“Thank you!” The little boy exclaimed when Seokmin set a bowl on the table for him, reminding Jae to blow on the soup first because it was hot. Seokmin turned towards you in the doorway and outstretched his arms, which you gladly stepped into.

“Thank you for taking care of us,” you mumbled into his shirt. He hummed contently, pressing his cheek into your hair.

“Of course I’m going to take care of my family, I-” he was cut off by suddenly leaning back and sneezing into the crook of his arm. He turned back with a sheepish smile and you couldn’t help but shake your head while laughing.

“Well,” you reached up to place a kiss on his cheek, “looks like tomorrow your family is going to take care of you.”


	9. Mingyu

Well, he definitely hadn’t expected to wake up to see his own face staring down at him. But that was just another piece of the story Mingyu loved to tell to anyone who asked about his soulmate experience. He’d admit that it caught him off guard, that his soulmate was biased towards him and very devoted at that. But he grew to find this trait enduring, even adorable, as he would tell you later to make you blush in front of friends and family. Everyone else seemed to agree with him. Relatives over the holidays turned it into a tradition, Mingyu earning a coveted spot in your family during the first Christmas you celebrated together.

But you always thought your half of the “soulmate story” was more interesting, especially because you were the one living out the “impossible chance” side of it. It wasn’t that straightforward, however.

You returned to find your life just as you had left it, the only proof of having switched being the flashy autograph that now adorned one corner of your bias’ poster. Upon taking a closer look, you saw that he had left his phone number underneath it, caught between wanting to fangirl and rolling your eyes at the cheesy pickup line that followed the digits.

You two connected easily, once you convinced yourself to call the number he left behind. You felt comfortable with him and soon the “idol” image you had created for him faded away until he was just Mingyu, the adorable dork who would send you pictures of dogs when you were sad.

The night of their comeback you stayed on the phone with him as long as possible.

“Thirty minutes to go, are you nervous?”

“Just a little bit, now that I know my soulmate will be watching.”

“Gyu,” you giggled, “need I remind you I was watching before.”

“I know but-” he was interrupted by a voice calling the boys to take their seats, “we have to start the live stream, call you when it’s over?”

“What if I want to watch the music video without you?”

“(Y/N),” he lowered his voice, causing it to come out huskier, “I want to be there to hear your reaction.”

You swallowed, his words causing something to flutter in your chest. “Okay,” you squeaked.

“Thank you, talk to you soon!” He ended the call as chipper as ever, as if he hadn’t just used the sexiest voice you’d heard from him. You brought the phone away from your ear, staring at his contact photo. You were still in a daze when you clicked on the V Live, watching as the boys started talking about their comeback excitedly. You avoided looking at Mingyu for the entire live stream as if he would be able to see the blush fanning across your face. Twenty minutes went by quickly and soon Soonyoung was running to the camera and placing his hand over it, signaling the end of the broadcast. Your phone rang almost immediately afterward.

“You’re not even off the air yet,” you laughed, watching as Soonyoung moved his hand away before the camera was off. Some of the boys were huddled around the laptop, but you spotted Mingyu in the corner, on the phone with you.

“Really?” He turned and gave the camera a wave, “You better be refreshing Youtube right now.”

“Alright, alright.” You clicked over to the other tab, clicking refresh to appease him. You heard some shuffling on his side and an excited shout from S. Coups, so you refreshed again and clicked on the new video that had appeared.

“Are you watching it?” You heard him say, but you were too mesmerized you could only shoosh him.

When the music from the video faded, you turned your attention back to the phone call.

“So?” His voice came after a moment.

“I- I think I need to watch that again,” You stuttered, wiping at your cheeks to clear away the tears that had started to fall.

“(Y/N), are you crying? Is… is that good?”

“Yes, I’m crying, you dork!” You exclaimed, letting out a shaky laugh as more tears spilled out of your eyes, “that was absolutely amazing, you guys did such a good job.”

“Guys!” You heard Mingyu call away from the phone, “She liked it!” You laughed as various whoops and excited shouts arose in the background, “The boys say thank you.”

“Well, I’m going to go watch that masterpiece again, so go have fun and relax, okay? You guys have earned it.”

“Thank you, (Y/N),” you could almost hear the smile in his voice, “take care of yourself too, I’ll talk to you later?”

“Goodnight, Gyu, talk to you soon.” As the call ended, you clicked ‘replay’ on the video and settled back to try and pay attention this time.

It took a lot to convince your mom to buy a ticket to Seventeen’s fansign when they came to your area. She didn’t believe that Mingyu, the one person you talked and fawned over constantly, was your soulmate, but she gave in because she knew how much it would mean to you. You decided against telling him that you would be there, wanting to surprise him. You spent weeks planning everything out, from your outfit down to the gift you were going to give him: a homemade cookbook of your favorite recipes. You could hardly contain your excitement when the day came, practically shaking as you entered the venue and went to stand in line. You were near the back, so you had time to watch the guys interact with the fans in front of you. They were all so sweet, accepting gifts and putting on the headbands the fans gave them, but you took special notice of how Mingyu interacted with people. He smiled the whole time and seemed genuinely engaged with the conversations he was having. You felt a little pride swell in your chest at that.

Before you knew it, you were standing to go up on the stage. Mingyu was near the end of the line, so you had the other boys to get to first. Seungkwan was first, but you hadn’t even gotten the chance to approach him when he turned and saw you. He could barely contain his excitement when you stood in front of him, placing a finger to your lips.

“Does he know you’re here?”

“Not yet, and I want to keep it a surprise if that’s possible,” you asked, hushly giggling.

Seungkwan leaned forward, “He’s shown us all of these pictures of you but I didn’t realize you’d be this pretty. He could have prepared us better.”

“Hey,” you playfully warned, “don’t get cocky, Boo.”

He shrugged and you both laughed, giving him a small bow when you were moved to the next boy. Their reactions were pretty much the same down the line: they were surprised to see you, they asked if Mingyu knew you were there, and then you’d make polite conversation until you were moved along. You were fast approaching Mingyu, Jihoon being the one sitting before him. You kept casting nervous glances over to him but he was engaged in a conversation with an almost hysterical fan, so he was pretty preoccupied. Jihoon tried to calm you down but your heart was practically racing at this point.

“(Y/N),” Jihoon reached over the table and grabbed your hand. You were surprised but let yourself look away from Mingyu, staring at him instead, “don’t be nervous, just be yourself.”

You nodded, and took your hand back, giving him a small bow before turning to walk forward.

For the first time since you’d gotten to know him, Mingyu was speechless. You had caught him way off guard, and he sat staring at you for a few moments before he realized what was happening.

“(Y/N), what? How? Um, hi?” He fumbled over his words while still trying to comprehend that you were actually there, standing in front of him in person. He reached across the table and you slipped your hand into his.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”  
“I wanted it to be a surprise,” you smiled, feeling his fingers wrap around your hand comfortingly. You brought your other hand up and set the small wrapped present in front of him, “I got you this.”

He looked down at the gift you’d set in front of him, a small pout forming on his lips, “I wish I knew, I could have gotten you something.”

“Gyu,” he looked up at the nickname, “getting to meet you is a gift enough.”

A smile overtook his face and he leaned forward, pulling you closer by your hands.

“I really want to hug you right now, but we have to wait until we’re not in front of a bunch of fans.”

“I understand,” you nod, smiling yourself.

“Until then,” he sat back and removed his hand from yours, sliding the ring off of his pinky. You gasped as he set the accessory in your palm and curled your fingers around it, “so you have something from me.”

You stared at your closed fist, the precious ring pressing into the skin of your palm. “How do you know I’m not going to run away and pawn this off?” You brought your elbows up to rest on the table and leaned forward to stare at him, the smile on your lips mischievous. 

“You wouldn’t, you love me too much.”

“Don’t make false assumptions without any proof.”

“I’m pretty sure I have proof.”

“Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

“Well, for starters, that poster of me above your bed.”

Ah, he got you there.


	10. Minghao

You realized you probably should have seen this coming. Your mother had always been a sucker for romance and she was absolutely in love with Minghao and everything he did: from his “heroic” story of saving Pepperoni in your honor to how he proposed with the same dog and a ring around his collar. Not that you didn’t appreciate it, you absolutely fell in love with him for his naturally kind and caring nature towards anyone, animals and humans alike. Your mother was just very over the top and she decided that your engagement party would be the perfect place to interrogate you on your plans for the future.

You were taking a quiet break from the party, dragging your fiance over to the wall to get away from all of the attention. It was nice to be able to breathe freely but when Minghao glanced over your shoulder, you knew who it was without having to turn around.

“That’s my cue to go find Jun, good luck, I love you.” He quickly kissed your head and before you could protest, he disappeared in the direction of the kitchen. You sighed and braced yourself for the conversation with your mother that was ahead: the topic of children.

“Oh, (Y/N), I’m so happy for you,” she cooed, wrapping her hand not holding her glass of wine around your back to give you a short hug, “Now, when will I be getting grandchildren?” She teased, laughing into her glass of wine while raising her eyebrow at you.

“We’re adopting, actually,” you told her, wearily watching for her reaction. She seemed disappointed for a moment but quickly replaced her frown with a smile.

“That’s wonderful, dear! There are so many children in the world without parents, and welcoming a child into your family even if they aren’t your own is a generous decision,” she concluded, her cheery voice making you wonder how much she had had to drink. Probably not enough for what you were about to reveal, “where are you adopting from?”

“The Summit Animal Shelter,” you smiled. This time the frown stayed on her cherry lips.

“The… what?”

“The Summit Animal Shelter. We’re getting a puppy, Mom.”

She definitely wasn’t drunk enough for this, because she was still trying to apply traditional logic to the situation, “Oh, you were talking about a pet this whole time! Silly me, I was talking about children. Are you planning on having kids?”

With a sigh, you gave up on trying to get her to realize that you didn’t want children and went along with the conversation in her favor. Minghao came by thinking your mother had moved on and you forced him into staying in the conversation with you, your arm wound tightly around his waist to keep him from retreating back into the kitchen. You stole amused glances towards each other and came up with an unspoken game: whenever your mother brought up the topic of children again, you’d take a sip of your drink. Needless to say, your glasses were refilled twice within the evening and by the time the last person left, you were both drunk off your ass. At least Pepperoni was the only witness to the aftermath of collapsing of laughter in the kitchen as you regaled how determined your mother was.

-

“(Y/N)! (Y/N), get up!” Minghao’s chirping voice and the way he bounced on the bed drew you out of your peaceful sleep. You groaned and tried to turn over to block him out, but he had you firmly pinned to the bed.

“Minghao, get off of me and let me sleep.”

“(Y/N),” he whined, “it’s adoption day!”

Quickly, you sat up, unfortunately knocking your head against your fiance’s. You both yelped but it was easily replaced by laughter, brought on by the newfound excitement of what day it was. Pepperoni was at your bedside, alerted by his parent’s cry of pain and trying to get into the bed to help. You sighed contently at the chaos: Minghao still sitting on your legs while Pepperoni slowly inched his way onto the bed via laying across your chest. And you were going to be bringing home another piece of your family today to add to the already crazy household.

“Alright, alright, everyone off,” you declared, shoving Minghao off unceremoniously while being more gentle with the large dog. Both of them whined but you gave your attention to Pepperoni who was staring up at you with his soft brown eyes. You gazed down at the large dog and rubbed his ears between your fingers.

“When will you look at me like that?” Minghao protested, rolling into your side and trying to pout like Pepperoni did. You laughed and carded your hand through his soft hair like you were petting the dog.

“When you stop waking me up by sitting on me.”

He giggled and rolled away to get out of bed. You both got ready quickly, not wanting to waste another minute of not being at the shelter. You wanted to get there as soon as it opened to have enough time picking out your new family member, and slightly because you wanted to play with every dog there. With a quick kiss to Pepperoni’s nose and the promise of bringing him home a new playmate, you loaded up the car and made your way to the shelter.

The Summit Animal Shelter was associated with the one you used to work at so a few people that worked there knew you. Your hand was gripped tightly around Minghao’s as they led you back towards the dogs, passing the other animals along the way.

“What if we got a kitten instead?” You teased, looking towards the cat room. Minghao laughed but you could tell he was distracted by the worker opening the dog room for you.

Once inside, you began walking along the rows of dog kennels, stopping to kneel down in front of the ones that caught your eye. It had been about ten minutes and you were currently sitting in front of a terrier mix when a woman came up next to you and cleared her throat to get your attention.

“Sorry to bother you,” the worker said, but you smiled to let her know it was alright, “but we just had a bunch of kittens come in and we need help holding them while we set up their cages, do you mind?”

“Not at all,” you said, looking back toward Minghao. He smiled too and the worker thanked you, leading you out of the dog room and to the cats you passed earlier.

You could hear their tiny mewls coming from a large cardboard as you approached the office and your heart clenched. When you got inside, the woman opened a file, flipped through a few pages, pulled out two small sheets, and set the material down again. She reached into the box and pulled out a kitten in each hand, handing the small grey tabby to you and a fluffy black one to Minghao.

“Follow me, please,” she asked and led you back into the cat room. She stopped in front of one of the empty cages and clipped the two information sheets to it before taking the bed and bowls laying on top of the cage and placing them inside. The kitten in your hand squirmed a little and you readjusted it to be more comfortable. When you looked over, Minghao seemed almost intimidated by the kitten trying to escape his arms. You laughed and helped him adjust his hold until the woman told them to place the kittens inside the cage.

They repeated the process until there were only two kittens left. The worker reached into the box and you from it came the tiniest squeak you’d ever heard in your life. You watched as she lifted a fluffy grey and white kitten out and handed it over to you. The kitten was impossibly soft and even more easygoing as it simply settled into your hand and went to sleep. You could have died right then and there.

You looked over to see the worker handing a small tortoiseshell to Minghao. Unlike the other times, something in Minghao softened when the kitten was placed in his hands. Gently he brought her closer to his chest and stroked her head and your heart melted at how soft he was being.

“What are their names?” You asked the worker. She examined the piece of paper she had just taken out of the folder.

“Uh, well they’re brother and sister, the white one is Tom and the tortoiseshell is Olive.”

“Tom?”

“It’s short for Tomato,” she laughed, “someone must have been hungry when they named these guys.”

You quickly looked over at Minghao who was already staring at you with a shocked smile. It was fate.

“We’ll adopt them.”

-

If Pepperoni could understand your words from earlier, he would have been confused as hell as to why you returned home with two kittens instead of another dog.

“Are we crazy?” you asked out loud, staring at the two fuzzballs in the crate that Pepperoni was currently examining. He was sniffing like crazy as the tinier creatures cowered together inside.

“They’ll get along, just give them time,” he answered, wrapping his arm around your waist.

In the end, they ended up getting along better than you ever expected. For a creature that was four times their size and much stronger, Pepperoni was intimidated by Tom and Olive. They would play together, the kittens ganging up and climbing on Pepperoni when he laid down and biting on his ears until he softly shook them off. Pepperoni was mostly gentle once he learned the kittens didn’t like to be nipped or barked at and there was only one incident when he accidentally rolled on Olive. But Olive came out unharmed and eagerly jumped on the dog’s legs, so you’d figured they’d be just fine.

You looked up from scrolling through your phone to see Minghao passed out on the couch adjacent to yours. Pepperoni came trotting through the door and sniffed at the hand Minghao had thrown off the side of the couch, giving it a small lick before settling onto the floor in front of him with a deep sigh. Soon after, the kittens followed, going over to both of them. Olive jumped onto Pepperoni but when he got no reaction, jumped onto the couch with Tom. The two of them kneaded into the cushions, Tom curling up into the space next to Minghao’s legs and Olive, being bolder, jumping up and laying on his stomach. You felt your heart swell and quickly clicked over to the camera on your phone, snapping a few photos to show Minghao later.

Your mother could whine and beg for grandchildren all she wanted, but you loved your little family just the way it was.


	11. Seungkwan

_“I can’t help that I’m nervous, Jagi,”_ Seungkwan rested his elbows on the counter and stared over at you. You turned away from the stove to get the milk from the fridge.

_“It’s just my parents, you don’t have to be nervous.”_

_“Uh, that’s exactly why I’m nervous!”_ He sighed dramatically and threw his arms down on the counter. You rolled your eyes and added milk to the sauce you were making, stirring and letting him sulk.

_“They already love you, you’re being dramatic.”_

You looked back to see him pouting at you, smiling at how childish he was being.

_“How can they love me if they’ve never met me?”_

You sighed and put the milk away, going over to lean across from him on the counter.

_“The same way I did.”_

He was stubborn but soon he was blushing and going back to the same smiley Seungkwan you knew and loved.

_“Jagi, I’m supposed to be the one with sentimental lines.”_

“Don’t get any ideas,” you warned in English, _“no cheesy lines when my family is here.”_

He held up his hands in surrender but you didn’t miss the mischievous glint in his eye, giving him a playful swat on the arm in response.

 _“Behave,”_ you warned again, turning back to the meal you were preparing. Tonight would be the first time your family was meeting Seungkwan and you were hoping everything would go well.

You’d been together for six years but had only been living together for a few months, now that you were both established adults. Up until last year, Seungkwan’s schedule was constantly hectic but the two of you were able to make it work together. Trying to work in dinner with either of your families, however, wasn’t going to happen when you rarely got to see each other as it was. But Seventeen’s constant promotions had begun to slow down and when some of the other boys started moving out of the dorms to live with their soulmates, Seungkwan followed suit. You looked back towards your soulmate, who was sneaking a carrot from the small bowl you’d set out earlier.

It was hard to believe that there was a time when you could hardly speak to one another with a mixture of nerves and a language barrier between you. It took patience, practice, and a lot of intervention from Vernon and Joshua but it all paid off when you were able to go out on your first date without the two other members accompanying you. While there had been a few mixups (you remember a moment when neither of you could remember the word for ‘watermelon’), Seungkwan made you laugh the entire night, and he was a gentleman on top of it all. You’d learned a lot from each other over the years, and while neither of you was fluent in the other’s language, you communicated just fine.

 _“Your sauce is burning,”_ Seungkwan caught your attention and tilted his head towards the stove behind you. The slight acrid smell of scorched cheese proved his point and you quickly turned down the heat on the stove and stirred. It could be salvaged, you noted, sighing.

 _“Thank you,”_ you untied your apron and went around the counter to take his hand, _“let’s go get ready, they’ll be here soon.”_

~

The doorbell rang while you were still getting ready. Seungkwan, who was sitting on the bed helping you pick out what to wear, suddenly looked very nervous.

 _“Can I convince you to greet them?”_ You asked, grabbing a dress out of the closet and turning towards the bathroom. He swallowed, his eyes still wide and uncertain.

 _“Please, Seungkwan,”_ you pleaded, _“just say_ ‘Hello Mr and Mrs (Y/L/N),’ _and my mom will do the rest of the talking, trust me._ ”

“O-okay,” he stuttered in English, getting up to kiss you before he went out and faced your parents. You smiled and straightened his shirt out before turning him around and pushing him towards the door. _“Be out soon,”_ he added before closing the bedroom door behind him.

You quickly slipped the dress on, checking your appearance for a final time before joining everyone in the living room. Upon opening your bedroom door, you could hear your dad’s deep laugh and you hoped Seungkwan had made it through greeting them.

“(Y/N), there you are!” Your mother gleefully greeted you, immediately pulling you into a long overdue hug, “you look gorgeous, honey!”

“Thanks, Mom,” you laughed and squeezed her back. You gave your dad an equally powerful hug and turned to look for Seungkwan, who was standing by the front door still. With a gentle smile, you stepped forward and interlaced your fingers with his, turning back towards your parents.

“Mom, Dad, this is Seungkwan. I think it’s been a while since you last met.”

Your dad’s loud laughter came again and your mother was beaming more than before. Confused, you turned towards your boyfriend, who was sporting a small smile.

“I made the same joke,” he said in English. You rolled your eyes outwardly but inside your heart was beating faster than you’d admit.

“Dinner’s ready if you’re hungry?” You offered, going to show them to the makeshift dining room you’d set up for the occasion.

After helping get them settled in, you and Seungkwan started to bring the various dishes to the table. You’d made a salad, pasta with homemade sauce, french bread, and Seungkwan made the fruit salad.

Your parents eagerly served themselves, already raving about how delicious everything was before even taking a bite. The conversation began to flow around the table, everyone catching up and telling stories that you’d missed while being away from home. Well, almost everyone. You stole a few glances towards Seungkwan during dinner, who was suddenly very interested in his pasta.

“So, Seungkwan,” your father spoke, taking a drink from his water, “what do you do for a living?”

Seungkwan hesitated in answering, and you knew he was trying to translate what your father had said.

 _“Your job,”_ you clarified. He nodded and looked back towards your parents.

“A singer,” he said, his voice soft with self-consciousness.

“Oh, that’s lovely!” Your mother responded in a sweet voice, “do you enjoy it?”

“It’s hard work,” Seungkwan set his fork down to continue talking, “but it’s amazing. I’m very grateful.”

Seungkwan became more comfortable as your parents made more of an effort to include him in the conversation. You were thankful that they were patient and understanding when he struggled with a reply. After dinner, your mom offered to help you in cleaning up. Together you cleared the table and began washing dishes in the kitchen. You were putting the dishes back in the cabinet when you felt a pair of arms wrap around you.

 _“Did I tell you that you look beautiful in that dress?”_ Seungkwan had leaned in close to your ear, his voice low. Not that it mattered since he spoke in Korean and your mother had gone back to the table to get the drinking glasses. You blushed and gave him a look that was interrupted by your mother.

“Did you say something, honey?” She asked, looking towards Seungkwan. He was startled by her sudden reappearance and jumped back from you, becoming interested in organizing the silverware drawer.

You gave her a small smile and finished putting the plates up, “he just said that he enjoyed the pasta.”

“Oh, that’s sweet,” your mother cooed and focused in on Seungkwan again, “It’s a family recipe.”

He smiled and nodded towards her and then turned to you, _“Is that what I said?”_ That glint was back, he knew what he could get away with.

_“For all she knows, yes.”_

_“How do you say ‘your daughter is absolutely stunning and she drives me crazy’ in English?”_

_“You don’t.”_

Your mother chuckled and continued to dry a pot, shaking her head while she watched you two talk back and forth. Little did you know, she understood your entire conversation. She had been learning Korean ever since meeting Seungkwan for the first time.


	12. Vernon

_To My Soulmate,_

Your fingers trembled as you traced the familiar words across the fabric of your costume. It had been several months since you had switched places with your soulmate, a period of time in which you’d only talked to him once. It was frustrating because you were both constantly stuck in rehearsal and the contrasting time zones made everything difficult. Even the one and only time you had interacted was brief: a short succession of texts that neither of you could afford to keep up. He promised to get in touch once he was able to get a break and travel to New York, which sounded promising at the time.

But here you were, six months later, still tracing out the words to a note you left him with no way of knowing if he read it, much less if he returned the embarrassing, cheesy feelings you illustrated in your letter. You were left to wonder about “what ifs” and possible scenarios while you almost miss your cue to go on stage. If it wasn’t for the persistent but patient stage manager, you’d surely been replaced as the lead by now.

One night after a particularly amazing performance, you were greeted at the stage door by a family with brown eyes and bright smiles that mirrored those you had memorized six months ago. They were visiting New York while Seventeen was in town for KCon and just happened to come to see the Broadway show you were the star of. Sofia recognized your name almost immediately but, as she put it, how could she forget it when you were all Vernon wanted to talk about nowadays. You were already a blushing mess but when she asked if you wanted to come with them to see Seventeen perform and meet Vernon after the show, you could hardly keep yourself together to form a coherent reply.

You had never even heard of KCon, much less been into the convention center, but luckily Sofia was there to help. You met her and Vernon’s parents outside of the venue. You were nervous about introducing yourself but they were more than welcoming, and you noticed that they all shared the same bright smile you had fallen in love with. They asked you questions about yourself as you made your way to the stage Seventeen was performing at: where you grew up, how long you had been in the city, what working as a Broadway performer was like. When you got to your seats at the side of the stage, his parents turned to talk to each other, leaving you and Sofia to talk.

“He did not!” She snorted, throwing a hand over her mouth.

“And I couldn’t just go up to the director and say, ‘sorry, my soulmate left me out in the rain!’ He’s just lucky that I don’t get sick often, having a cold and performing are not two things that go together.”

She laughed again but this time it was underlaid by a more serious tone. “Did he leave you a note or anything?”

You shook your head, remembering the disappointment you felt when you woke up, “Just a Reese’s wrapper and his contact information.”

She nodded, taking a deep breath before fully turning her body towards you and taking one of your hands.

“He’ll probably explain this to you himself, but you deserve to know.” You nodded, concern settling onto your face as she continued. “Our family has a lot of, er, bad luck with soulmates, so what might come off as blatant disregard could be hesitant belief.” She pursed her lips and turned to stare at the floor, “Truthfully we were a little shocked when he called to tell us he had switched, but,” she looked back up and you could see a few tears begin to glisten in her eyes, “I’m so glad he did. Vernon deserves someone like you. Especially after everything we’ve been through together, it’s nice to know the universe finally did something right for once.”

Leaning forward, you gently wrapped the younger girl up in a hug. You didn’t speak when you felt her breath shake in your embrace, her head resting on your shoulder as she tried to recompose herself. The conversations around you seemed to fade and all that mattered was providing a safe space for Sofia. You two were practically still strangers but it felt like the confession she had just given you rocketed your friendship forward by years. Eventually, her breathing steadied out and she leaned back into her chair, wiping at the wetness on her cheeks.

“Sorry, I’m not usually like this.”

“No, no, don’t apologize,” you quickly interjected, “He’s lucky to have a sister like you.”

She laughed, smoothing her hand over her cheek for a final time. Conversation flowed easily between you, especially when it was her telling embarrassing stories about Vernon from when they were children.

Suddenly, the spotlights on stage sprang to life. The crowd behind you erupted into screams as blue and white lights mixed together and illuminated the whole venue. The group started to filter on stage for their first song, and you realized Sofia’s hand was tightly squeezed around yours. She pointed towards Vernon, cheering for her brother when he took the front of the stage.

You knew of the group, having been thrown head first into their family dynamic, but you never realized the full extent of their talent until seeing them perform live. You found yourself in a trance watching their choreography and their synchronization, and by the end of their performance, you were just as loud as Sofia.

Before you knew it, Sofia had hooked her arm around yours and was dragging you backstage. She flashed her pass at the bodyguard who let you both through. You could hear the excited shouts and cheers of the boys before you could see them. Your nerves were going crazy but you didn’t have time to dwell on them before you turned the corner to see the group.

You immediately spotted Vernon across the room. His back was turned towards you, but Mingyu shouting Sofia’s name had him turning around, eyes first going to hers and lighting up. He crossed the room in record time and Sofia let go of you to throw her arms around his neck. The group of boys ‘aww-ed’ at their reunion and you found yourself smiling at the moment as well. You almost forgot why you were there until Sofia was letting go and turning to you.

“Vernon, there’s someone I think you should meet.”

You had never been one for romantic cliches, but if there was ever a moment where it seemed like you two were the only people in the room, this was it. As if in slow motion he looked over his sister’s shoulder and found you. Your eyes met and your breath caught in your throat as your heartbeat went into overdrive. It took him exactly five seconds until he was standing in front of you, three seconds to take in your features, and one second to finally hug you. You buried your face into his shoulder, your hands gripping to his shirt to confirm to yourself that this was real, this was actually happening. He was shaking slightly, probably from the way he was holding you so tight, but you didn’t care. After a moment, he leaned back enough to stare down at your face but his arms around your waist stayed strong, afraid of letting go.

“Hi,” he finally said, still a little out of breath so it was barely above a whisper.

“Hey yourself,” you replied, grinning up at him and earning a wide smile in return.

“I liked your letter.”

You let go of the fabric you were still clutching and moved to hold his forearms instead. “Six months later and your only feedback is that you ‘liked’ it?”

“There is not enough time in the world to explain how much it meant to me, and,” he let go to retrieve something from the other side of the room and you were already missing the feeling of his arms around you, “I wrote one for you too.” He had come back and placed a small envelope in your hand.

The paper was slightly worn like he’d had it for a while and took it with him wherever he went. On the back, written in bold, black ink like yours had been, were the words “To My Soulmate.” With a confirming glance towards him, you tore open the envelope and took out the paper inside, starting to read.

_To My Soulmate,_

_You’re here, and that’s all that matters._


	13. Chan

“Why are you making such a big deal about this?” His voice had risen but he had yet to shout back at you. You’d never admit that you wanted to see him get angry, to show some sign that he cared as much as you did. He’d been frustratingly placid the whole day, as if announcing that he was leaving should have been easy for everyone to accept, “do you just not want me to go?”

“Chan, of course I don’t want you to leave but you’re going to pursue your dream so it’s fine,” you sighed, turning away from him to get a glass of water from the kitchen. You’d been arguing for almost half an hour and your voice was starting to feel hoarse.

“Why can’t you just be supportive like everyone else?” he called after you.

“Because I’m not everyone else!” The glass was tightly gripped in your fingers as you filled it from the sink, “am I just supposed to accept that I don’t know when the next time I’ll see you is?”

“Your father did.”

You stared at him from the doorway into the living room, “This isn’t about him, this is about us.”

“What us?” His voice was dangerously steady and you wondered if the question had come easily from him.

“Us, our relationship!” You balked.

“I wouldn’t call sneaking around a relationship.”

“Oh, so the past two years have meant absolutely nothing to you? Is that why you’re so eager to leave?”

“(Y/N),” he sighed, throwing his head back against the couch, “if this is how our last conversation is going to go then maybe I can’t wait to get out of here!”

He was finally yelling but it wasn’t as satisfying as you once thought. The heavy silence between you sat undisturbed for a few minutes until it was broken with the slip of your hand. The glass shattered around your feet, splaying out on the wooden floor in tiny shards. The tears that had been threatening to fall all night were given release and you freely sobbed, not caring what Chan thought of you anymore. Bending to pick up the pieces, you carefully scooped up the remains of the cup.

“(Y/N), stop you’re going to hurt yourself,” Chan had gotten off the couch but you put your hand over the glass to prevent him from helping. You had done it without thinking, so consumed in not letting him help clean up the mess he caused that you didn’t realize you had set your hand too far down until the glass was grazing across your skin. Crying out, you clutched your hand to your chest and watched as the front of your shirt became stained with red.

“I’m leaving, move Chan.” You shoved him away with your free hand and quickly made your way over to the door, pretending not to notice the small drops of blood staining the carpet behind you. Getting on your coat was difficult with one hand flat against your shirt and tears blurring your vision but you managed.

He let you go and you thought that was the last time you’d see him. And you never stopped to wonder if he was just as afraid of not switching after your eighteenth birthday as you were.

-

It had been four years and yet the flashbacks were so vivid sometimes you wondered if you were traveling back in time. You blinked slowly, trying to refocus your thoughts. Voices coming from the main foyer drew your attention, and you realized what had triggered the sudden daydream. Not only could you hear your father, but Chan was with him.

They entered the front room and you averted your eyes to the floor, smoothing out the dress covering your legs before folding your hands in your lap. You could feel Chan’s stare burning through you but you refused to meet his gaze, knowing this meeting would be easier for the both of you if you didn’t interact with him. He sat on the couch across from you and your father took a seat next to you, and the meeting began.

“Chan, I brought you here to discuss your arrangements with (Y/N),” You heard Chan shift in his seat but he remained silent, “We believe it would be best if your soulmate bond was broken.”

If you hadn’t already been anticipating your father’s request, you knew your reaction would be similar to Chan’s. He sat forward in his seat, almost losing his composure before he seems to remember who he was sitting in front of.

“Sir, may I ask why?”

Your father sighed and sat forward to mirror Chan’s stance in an act of intimidation, “You understand my affliction with you already.”

“Yes, sir, I just thought-”

“I have the paperwork right here,” your father interrupted, placing the stack of documents in front of the boy, “your cooperation is appreciated.”

Chan swallowed and you saw him look towards you. Something in you shifted, making you look up to see him properly for the first time during the meeting. You had been expecting to see Chan as he was when you were teenagers but sitting in front of you instead was someone completely different. Someone who was more mature and albeit more handsome than you remembered. It was hard to believe that at just twenty years old someone could look so much like an adult. With each passing second that you stared at each other, it was becoming harder to look away.

“Father,” you finally spoke, “can I speak to Chan alone for a minute?”

He looked displeased for a moment before giving into your request, leaving you alone with Chan for the first time in four years. It was silent between you for a moment until Chan spoke, his voice hardly above a whisper.

“Broken?” He questioned.

You looked down at the papers sitting in front of him, “Father’s arranged for me to be married to one of his business partner’s sons. Something about keeping the family business in trustworthy hands.”

His response was unexpected, “Is that what you want?”

Your laugh was cynical but you allowed yourself to relax a little, “It doesn’t matter what I want. When it comes to this kind of thing, I have no say.”

To your surprise, he stood and came around the small table to sit next to you. Carefully he reached over to take your hand in his and while you thought about it, you didn’t want to pull away.

“You have a say here.” His voice was light and undemanding, and suddenly you were transported back to being fifteen again, sitting in the treehouse in his backyard under the stars. It was a time when things like arranged engagements and soulmates wouldn’t matter because you had each other.

The sudden nostalgia left you with an ache in your heart and you realized that all along you had missed this, you had always missed him, and no amount of time could have changed that. For years he was the one constant in your life and despite having argued before he left you still found yourself going to call him the next morning. Breaking the routine of seeing him every day had been difficult but you managed to hide the ache well enough that your father praised you for letting Chan go so quickly. And after a while, you convinced yourself of the same.

Chan’s fingers against your cheek snapped you out of another daydream, and you realized he was brushing away the tears starting to fall from your eyes. Your slight jerk had him pulling away like you were reacting negatively to the affectionate gesture, but you found yourself leaning back into his touch before he got too far. You knew your father was just outside the door and could come back in at any minute but you allowed yourself the one moment of peace.

“I never got to apologize,” he said, staring down at your hands, “for that argument. I was stupid for letting you believe none of it meant anything to me. Truthfully, I was scared, because you were my whole world and I lost that.”

“I was scared too,” you admitted, “I was afraid we’d gone too far and I didn’t want to be heartbroken if I switched and my soulmate wasn’t you.”

“But I was,” he squeezed your hand reassuringly and for the first time that day, you smiled. It was short lived though, as the reality set back in.

“So,” you sighed, leaning on his arm, “what are we going to do?”

His expression furrowed into contemplation before he looked over to you, “I’ll talk to your father, refuse the contract.”

“He’s not going to give up his company that easy, are you sure you want to do this?”

“I’m not fighting for his company, I’m fighting for you.”

Ducking your head in hopes that he wouldn’t see the blush that had surely turned your face bright red, you attempted to scoff at his cheesiness.

“(Y/N),” his tone had changed into something more serious. When you looked back up, he was already staring at you in adoration and your heart practically melted at the sight. He leaned forward and you helped close the gap between you, catching his lips against yours. The memories you’d pushed away resurfaced with him, summer in the treehouse and dancing in the rain and waking up next to him after a blizzard and wondering how you could be so warm when it was freezing outside. Kissing him goodnight before he scrambled out the window to avoid being caught by your father. Kissing him now under the same exhilarating circumstances.

A shuffle from the hallway broke you apart but no one entered the room, allowing both of you to relax and turn back towards each other. There was no hiding your smile now as he took both of your hands and intertwined them.

“I already lost you once and I’m not letting it happen again,” he promised. And this time, you truly believed him.


End file.
